Poltergeist
by Carleen
Summary: LJ Insanity Round. Tali tries to do something special for James Vega.


Live Journal - Insanity Round

PROMPTS: I Think You've Had Enough Candy and Poltergeist

(Because there aren't enough Vega/Tali stories)

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><p><strong>Midnight, October 30.<strong>

Almost midnight when James finishes up his work. In the middle of wiping down the last weapon he heard a noise. At first, he ignored it. This ship made all kinds of interesting noises. A glance at the old fashioned calender his grandmother sent him every year reminded him it was almost Halloween. That thought sent a cascade of pleasant and some not so pleasant memories through his mind.

Like the year he'd insisted on being Spider Man. He'd earned the scar on his nose when he tried to prove to a little girl that he really could fly like the famous superhero. The girl had been unimpressed when instead of soaring across the neighborhood, he did a faceplant on the sidewalk. All he'd gotten for his trouble was a scar, ridicule and trouble. With blood pouring out of his nose, his grandmother hauled him to the emergency room - after she'd slapped him across the face for being stupid.

By the time he graduated from high school, he'd earned the nickname The Hulk. After several years of getting beat up for the Spider Man scar, the mantra the kids chanted, Hulk, Hulk, Hulk, was fine and suited him perfectly. He never looked back when the Marines beckoned on the eve of his seventeenth birthday.

James chuckled at the memory and placed the Mantis sniper rifle in the rack. The hair on the back of his neck rose when across the bay running footsteps ended abruptly by the sound of a door slamming. But there were no doors to slam in the cargo bay.

"_Qué demonios ? _... What the hell?"

James listened to more of the sounds, trying to identify them, but all he heard was the sound of his own heartbeat, pounding in his ears.

"Hey, Esteban? Can't sleep?" James called out to the gloom and realized just how dark it was down here. When he'd accepted the fact that he was alone and turned toward the elevator, a long moaning sound echoed through the shadowed darkness.

"_Dios." _Without looking, James lifted a pistol from the rack behind him. The longer he stared into the shadows the sharper their edge became until he began to believe he could see them moving. He remembered a story his grandmother told him once… Shadows that were alive... James swallowed hard.

He spun when another sound rolled through the shadows toward him sounding like something crashing to the deck. There were other stories too. Late at night on the beach the kids used to tell each other stories about the Chupacabra. James shivered at the memory. With his Spidey senses on high (there are things you never forget) James walked slowly across the hangar bay.

The groan sounded again and the sound of something hitting the deck followed. James reared back, with the pistol ready when the door to the Kodiak slide open and light spilled from the interior.

"ESTEBAN! _Que Paso_?"

About ten feet from the hatchway the sound of feminine whimpering reached his ears. He found the poltergeist in a purple survival suit laying on her side. His eyes followed the long legs to the delectable curves of her hips. To her right stood two mugs. One of the brightly painted mugs lay on its side in a small brown puddle.

Was that chocolate he smelled?

"Sparks? 'you okay?"

"No. If that's you, James. Go away!"

When he knelt down by her side, he noticed the black hair spilling across the deck. James brushed the silky black strands away from her face. Why had she removed her helmet? He was about to see her face. _He was about to see her __face. _With gentle fingers under her neck, he helped her sit up. His other hand stayed in the tangled curls of her hair and with his thumb, he tilted a heart shaped face up to his. The shock of seeing her, and a pair of silver blue eyes knocked him on his butt. He landed with a thump on the deck.

"_Chispas_... Sparks. You're beautiful."

She shook her head and tried to pull away. "What I am, is drunk… the chocolate," she sobbed and dropped her head on James' shoulder.

"Why are you crying?"

"I-I wanted to make something special for you, since Halloween is celebrated a little diff-differently in Mexico. Day of the Dead… I wanted to make you some Mexican hot chocolate. I looked it up on the Extranet… But I ate some of the chocolate and all the sugar made me a little drunk… then I spilled the… I'm sorry."

When he got the last of her hair pushed back away from her face, he noticed the smudge of chocolate on her bottom lip. Full and faintly pink he couldn't take his eyes off her mouth.

With her lithe body clinging to him and her arms wrapped tightly around his neck all he could think of was tasting that chocolate. But he had to be certain.

"Tali, why?"

Under his stare she opened her eyes and what he saw there stopped his heart, stopped his breathing and while he waited for her answer, he pulled her into a more comfortable position on his lap.

"B-because, I wanted to do something special… because I wanted you to know how much I like y-y and admire you. You're so brav..."

The Marine's mouth found the delicate texture of her lips with his own and Tali forgot all about finishing her sentence or being upset or worrying about what James would think of her.

When he finally stood up with her firmly in his arms, he rubbed his scarred nose against hers, "I think that's enough candy, _Chispas_."

Tali's long fingered hands grasped the back of the Marine's neck and pulled him toward her. She shook her head, "No, not nearly enough…"

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><p><strong>PROMPTS<strong>

There's no place like home

I'll beat you 'til candy comes out

Turian chocolate


End file.
